Whether a group is looking for a heaping helping of Southern hospitality, one-of-a-kind venues, cutting-edge scientific resources or innovative approaches to sustainability, Eastern Tennessee delivers. Possibly no other region in the U.S. manages to blend both tradition and forward-thinking with such seamless ease.
While Knoxville can please preservation and culture buffs with its restored mansions and wealth of museums and performing arts options, resources such as the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratories also make it a favorite with international scientific groups. And while Chattanooga has long been known for its Civil War heritage, it’s fast building a reputation for eclectic dining, outdoor adventure and eco-friendly venues and attractions.
Bluegrass music and scenic splendor are on the agenda in the Smoky Mountains region, where the three main cities of Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville offer a wide choice of venues and activities for meetings. Tennessee’s musical and historic roots also run deep in Kingsport, Bristol and Johnson City, collectively known as the Tri-Cities.
Chattanooga
Groups who want a sophisticated vibe with nature close at hand will find much to like about Chattanooga, according to Steve Genovesi, vice president of sales and marketing for the Chattanooga CVB.
“We have all the elements of an urban destination, yet the surrounding mountains can make you feel like you’re at a retreat,” he says. “You can dine at a James Beard-nominated restaurant or go on top of Lookout Mountain for a country hoe-down with barbecue.”
While Chattanooga has much to be proud of, its evolution from the nation’s most polluted city (designated as such by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare in 1969) to one known for its green initiatives tops the list. Among the shining examples is the energy-efficient Chattanooga Convention Center, which according to Genovesi, was the first convention center in the nation to have a farm-to-table program for its food and beverage operations.
“The convention center has its own plot of land at a farm 30 miles out of town where the chef gets heirloom tomatoes and other things for banquets,” he says. “They get great bread from a local bakery and other locally sourced ingredients that really add to the quality.”
With major meetings hotels such as the Chattanooga Marriott at the Convention Center, The Chattanoogan Hotel & Conference Center, the Doubletree Hotel Chattanooga and the Sheraton Read House close to the convention center, Chattanooga is a pedestrian-friendly destination for groups. Other car-free options include a free electric downtown shuttle and an upcoming bike-share program where visitors can pick up rental bikes at stations around the city, including at hotels and the convention center.
According to Genovesi, eco-minded groups such as the Society of Conservation Biology, which at a recent conference included events connected with the Tennessee Aquarium, are a strong source of business, as are groups who want a wide variety of activity choices. A recent corporate group was given options that included Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, an important Civil War battle site; the Tennessee Aquarium; Ruby Falls and Rock City Gardens; and bass fishing.
“You’re not just restricted to golf and spa here, although we have that, too,” Genovesi says.
Just opened, the city’s newest event option is Track 29, a 1,800-seat live music venue with national touring headliners, located on the campus of the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel.
“It’s a real game-changer for downtown,” Genovesi says. “It’s close to major hotels and has VIP suites that overlook the whole venue and are great for small groups.”
Knoxville
“We sell Knoxville as a kind of open-air mall,” says Kim Bumpass, senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation, explaining that the city offers a wide array of venues and attractions for groups of all types and sizes.
“One of our big advantages is our drivability—we’re centrally located for regional meetings,” she says. “However, we also have a great airport and the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, so we’ve hosted quite a few national and international scientific meetings. It’s a real growing market for us.”
Accommodating mid-size to large conventions, the Knoxville Convention Center offers 500,000 square feet, including 120,000 square feet of contiguous exhibition space. The city also boasts a number of alternative venues.
“We also have Thompson Arena at the university, which we can use for huge, citywide religious groups,” Bumpass says. “There’s the Civic Coliseum for smaller groups who don’t need the convention center. And there’s Chilhowee Park, which is great for SMERF and motorcycle or car groups—they get 50 acres in which to spread out. The park also has the Jacobs Building for indoor exhibitions.”
According to Bumpass, Knoxville also offers a strong meetings hotel selection, including the Holiday Inn Downtown at the Convention Center, which just wrapped up a property-wide renovation. Other meetings-ready properties include the Hilton Knoxville, Knoxville Marriott, Crowne Plaza Hotel Knoxville and Hilton Knoxville Airport. Just opened is the Hampton Inn Knoxville at Turkey Creek.
Attractions and off-site venues include the Knoxville Zoo, the Volunteer Princess yacht and an impressive roster of museums and restored historic homes, including the East Tennessee History Center, Knoxville Museum of Art, Blount Mansion, Farragut Folklife Museum, Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and Beck Cultural Exchange Center.
“What a lot of people don’t know is that we’re very much into the arts here—we have a symphony, an opera, theater and music festivals, including the only Rossini Festival outside of Italy,” Bumpass says. “You can have any type of live music on any given day—and it can be arranged for groups.”
Just walking around Knoxville is entertainment in itself, she adds.
“Our downtown continues to be enhanced with great shopping and over 100 restaurants,” she says. “There’s been a surge of locals who want to live downtown, so retail and other things that add to the appeal keep coming in.”
Smoky Mountain Region
While best known for two major attractions, Smoky Mountains National Park and Dollywood, this scenic region also offers plenty for business and leisure visitors in its three main cities, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville.
Pigeon Forge, a city with a population of 5,800 that swells to 50,000 during the summer tourist season, is a gateway to Smoky Mountains National Park and the site of Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park, which recently added Adventure Mountain, a two-acre expanse of interactive elements that include rope trails, swinging bridges, pulleys and other challenges.
Last year, Pigeon Forge added another popular attraction, Titanic Pigeon Forge, which includes artifacts as well as interactive experiences and a three-deck replication of the ill-fated ocean liner that sank on its maiden voyage in 1912.
Set for an opening in 2013, the LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge is under construction alongside the Pigeon Forge Riverwalk. The facility will include several meeting rooms and a 100,000-square-foot exhibition hall.
“The city’s own special events such as Wilderness Wildlife Week will be an important user of the facility, but more important, however, will be the trade shows, youth rallies, church assemblies and sporting events that will be drawn to Pigeon Forge,” says Leon Downey, executive director of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism.
Meetings facilities in Pigeon Forge include the Smoky Mountain Convention Center, Grand Resort Hotel & Convention Center and the Holiday Inn Pigeon Forge, which recently added an 8,500-square-foot conference center. Two recently opened properties include Spring Hill Suites and Clarion Hotel.
Also convenient to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Dollywood, Sevierville offers the Sevierville Events Center, which includes a 108,000-square-foot exhibit hall and a 19,000-square-foot ballroom.
The largest meetings facility in the region is the Gatlinburg Convention Center, which offers 300,000 square feet of event space. Gatlinburg also offers a new Hilton Garden Inn; Park Vista-A Doubletree Hotel, which recently completed a renovation and rebranding; River Terrace Resort & Convention Center and Edgewater Hotel and Conference Center.
Downtown Gatlinburg’s newest attraction is Ole Smoky Distillery, where visitors can taste several varieties of moonshine, including apple and peach flavors, and also tour the distillery and learn about the history and lore of moonshine in East Tennessee. Nestled along an eight-mile loop in northeast Gatlinburg, the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community, the only zoned crafts community in the U.S., is a prime place to shop and watch artisans at work on quilts, baskets, wood carvings, pottery and other items.
Tri-Cities Region
Everything from heritage sites to music fests and motor racing abounds in the Tri-Cities.
A prime venue in Bristol is the Rocky Mount Living History Museum, which offers interpretive tours of a farmstead that once served as a territorial governor’s residence and event spaces that include seminar rooms, an auditorium and a picturesque outdoor setting with a vintage barn as a backdrop.
Straddling the Tennessee-Virginia border and recognized by Congress in 1998 as the official birthplace of country music, Bristol is the site of the annual Roots & Rhythm Reunion every September, which features over 100 musicians performing on stages downtown. Another popular attraction is the Bristol Motor Speedway.
Among Bristol’s entertainment venues available for group events are the Paramount Center for the Arts, a former movie palace, and Viking Hall Civic Center. Meetings equipped hotels include the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites and Courtyard by Marriott.
Home to East Tennessee State University, which boasts the nation’s only four-year degree program in bluegrass music, Johnson City is a stellar place for groups to enjoy local sounds at entertainment venues such as Down Home. Nearby Jonesborough is known for its historic downtown and annual National Storytelling Festival held every year during the first full weekend in October.
Along with the Carnegie Hotel & Spa and the Best Western Hotel & Conference Center, Johnson City offers two recently opened properties: a Courtyard by Marriott and Holiday Inn Express.
Kingsport is known for such heritage venues as Netherland Inn, which once hosted Andrew Jackson, and Exchange Place, a living history farm. It also boasts the recently expanded Marriott Meadow View Conference Resort and Convention Center, which offers 35,000 square feet of meeting space and a championship golf course.
